A Utah-produced teacher resource on financial education project won an award from the National Educational Telecommunications Association (NETA) in Nashville, Tennessee on January 13, 2011. NETA presented the award to the Utah Education Network (UEN) for its multi-platform Finance in the Classroom for Utah educators, students and parents.

Participating campuses will select faculty/administrators that will work on partnerships with institutions in China, which could include joint programs, student exchanges or faculty linkages for collaborative research and training.

Libraries and foreign languages have won the hearts of prominent lawmakers on the Utah Legislature?s Public Education Appropriatoins Subcommittee, while an early education reading program garnered questions and calls for further review.

Utah 4-H offers a variety of scholarships to 4-H members to help offset the cost of attending college. Each year the amount and number of scholarships depends on the availablility of funds and the status of the applicant pool.

Utah State University Extension co-sponsors ?Utah in Bloom,? the 2011 Utah Green Industry Conference and Trade Show held Jan. 24 through 26 at the South Towne Expo Center in Sandy. The conference is intended for those in the Utah green industry, including landscape designers, contractors and managers, arborists, garden center personnel, greenhouse growers and anyone who works with plants on a professional level.

As part of UVU President Matthew S. Holland?s business engagement strategy to help local businesses invigorate the region?s economy, the University is creating a technology commercialization office. The new director will identify and cultivate the area?s entrepreneurial and informational technology properties developed at UVU and throughout the region, and facilitate the transfer of those technologies into commercially viable enterprises.

As the first Utah Valley University student ever to compete for Miss America, Miss Utah Christina Lowe will proudly represent both her home state and her University Jan. 15 in Las Vegas at the national 2011 Miss America Pageant. Well-wishers can help Lowe?s chances by voting for her to become a finalist in the competition.

Dwight Liddiard, principal at East Meadows Elementary, is currently serving on the Board of the National Association of Elementary School Principals (NAESP). As part of that assignment, he was recently invited by the United States State Department Office of Overseas Schools to attend the European Council of International Schools Conference held in Nice, France.

This past year marked many significant achievements and recognitions for Utah State University. Here is what USU?s Public Relations &amp; Marketing staff considers to be the university?s Top 10 highlights, and notable mentions, for 2010.

The University of Utah has been given a 2010 Community Engagement classification by the Carnegie Foundation for the Advancement of Teaching. This is the same organization that classifies the level of institutional research activity, commonly referred to as a &quot;research one&quot; designation.

With a talented and dedicated coaching staff, the Peaks has several options to get you out on the ice! Learn to Skate group classes follow the US Figure Skating Basic Skills Program for preschool age children to adults.

Thanksgiving Point will have approximately 2,000 students entering a new neighboring educational facility southwest of its Electric Park on Jan. 18 for classes at Mountainland Applied Technology College. A ribbon-cutting and dedication program for the new MATC administration headquarters for the area is planned for Jan. 12 at 11 a.m.

The Dixie State College Sears Art Museum Gallery is hosting an art panel discussion and performance special event on Friday, January 7, at 7:00 p.m. The Sears Art Museum Gallery is located in the Eccles Fine Arts building on the DSC Campus on Friday, and admission to the event is free and open to the public.

Granite School District announces Granite Connect, an online program that helps students looking to meet credit requirements before graduation. Granite Connect will pilot five online classes in January 2011: computer technology, U.S. government and citizenship, financial literacy, fitness for life and driver's education.

Buried deep under a blanket of winter snow, tulip bulbs are patiently waiting to emerge this spring. Waiting even more patiently are approximately 4,500 Utah elementary students who planted thousands of bulbs last fall, anxious to see the product of their labors as part of the Tulips Journey North project.

A Utah Conservation Leadership Recognition Award was given to Utah State University Cooperative Extension at the Utah Conservation Commission meeting in Layton in November. Extension Associate Vice President Chuck Gay received the award for USU Cooperative Extension.

Utah?s free website for education and career planning, UtahFutures.org, is celebrating its one-year anniversary by soliciting success stories from its 324,000 portfolio holders. Any Utah resident can set up a portfolio and/or browse UtahFutures.org free of charge.

Starting fall semester 2011, Utah Valley University will offer the state?s first four-year degree in geomatics, the modern iteration of what used to be known as land surveying. Last week the Utah State Board of Regents approved both four-year bachelor and two-year associate degree programs in geomatics for UVU?s Department of Engineering Graphics and Design Technology, part of the College of Technology &amp; Computing.

Education Equity: the educational policies, practices and program necessary to (a) eliminate educational barriers based on gender, race/ethnicity, national origin, color, disability, age or other protected groups status; and (b) provide equal educational opportunities to ensure that historically underserved or underrepresented populations meet the same rigorous standards for academic performance expected of all children and youth.

Utah State University is a place where great minds come together. It is also a university with extraordinary heart and soul. We extend to you our warmest greetings this holiday season. Stan and Joyce Albrecht

Civil rights leader and former United Nations ambassador Andrew Young will deliver the keynote address at Utah Valley University?s 17th Annual Martin Luther King Jr. Commemoration. The Presidential Medal of Freedom recipient brings a long résumé in human rights advocacy on both sides of the aisle ? from King?s own shoulder to the halls of Congress; from the Atlanta mayoral seat to the nation of Namibia.

A team from the University of Utah with a bionic arm for ultrasound clinicians won the annual techTitans idea competition earlier this month. Teams from across the state competed in the competition at the U of U. The winning teams survived several rounds of judging by local professors and business professionals who evaluated the merit of their ideas.

During its regular board meeting Tuesday, the Board of Education unanimously voted to call the new junior high being built in west Kaysville, Centennial Junior High. Junior High School Director Rick Call explained to the board that more than 30 names were submitted to a committee for consideration.

At USU, Salant is working with faculty members Phaedra Budy and Jack Schmidt on several projects coordinated by the USU-led Intermountain Center for River Rehabilitation and Restoration. Her efforts are focused on restoration and monitoring programs on several rivers in Utah and Oregon, including the Donner und Blitzen River of the Malheur National Wildlife Refuge and the Strawberry River near Heber.

Michael McLean?s ?The Forgotten Carols? shares the songs of the forgotten players in the Christmas story, and he wants to make sure hard-working Utah Valley University students are not forgotten either. Two students in UVU?s College of Humanities &amp; Social Sciences are excited to be among the remembered ones. They were presented the scholarships at the Dec. 2 performance of ?The Forgotten Carols? in the UCCU Center.

Southern Utah University Endowed Chair of Elementary Arts Education Carrie Trenholm has been selected to create the state tree ornaments for Utah to be featured at this year?s National Christmas Tree Lighting event hosted by the National Park Foundation and National Park Service. The event will be held on Thursday, December 9, at 5 p.m., on the Ellipse in Washington, D.C.

As per Utah Code 53A-2-207, Utah residents may apply to attend a school outside their designated boundary during a state mandated &quot;open window&quot; period &quot;December 1 through the third Friday in February (February 18) by those seeking admission for the following year&quot;.

The federal government has given a big boost to the University of Utah's College of Architecture + Planning as it prepares to renovate its 1970 building into a net zero energy facility-a building that generates as much energy as it consumes through renewable power generating systems located onsite.

Dental Assisting faculty and students at Bridgerland Applied Technology College are proud to embark upon a humanitarian journey close to their hearts. This year, instead of exchanging holiday gifts, faculty and staff are generously giving to Operation Smile ? a gift that transforms lives.

Utah Valley University?s Peace and Justice Studies program will host a seminar about human trafficking in Utah on Dec. 2 from 1-3:30 p.m. in the UVU Library lecture hall, room LI 120. Aimed at educating the UVU campus community and the public about modern-day human trafficking in the state and across the country,

The Cyprus High School MESA A ?Team captured first place in the Western regional finals of the NASA/MIT SPHERES Satellite Programming competition on November 12. The team went undefeated against seven other high schools from Arizona, California, Colorado, Idaho and Washington.